I chose my Newsletter - Blog for my portfolio because I think by browsing through it and examining what I choose to post on it you gain a good understanding of my teaching philosophy and style as well as what I do in my classroom and how I use technology. I think this course helped me gain the confidence to stick with technology even when it wasn't working or I felt like I didn't have time to become and expert before putting something out there to be seen by the world. I believe that if we want our students to feel confident taking these risks we have to model that we are willing to do so too. Rubric
Rubric in Google Docs
I choose my rubric to be in my portfolio because it was my first fully successful Google Docs - Forms project that I came together and will be the first one that I use with my students. I have had the first student try it and the feedback was positive and I am hoping to use forms tool even more as a part of the Data Management part of math (students creating their own and collecting data from students around the world) so I again wanted to model using the technology. I am excited about creating and sharing rubrics in Google Doc - Forms as our board moves ahead with Google Apps for education and I am hoping to build a bank of rubrics that I can save online and easily edit at any point. Presentation
Poetry Presentation with Prezi
I included this piece in my portfolio because I chose to go ahead and try Prezi which I had never used before this assignment. I have a fair bit of experience with PowerPoint and since part of my personal PD with this course was trying new technologies through immersion, I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and give it a go. While I feel that this presentation is a little sparse and technically flawed, I included it because as a direct result of this assignment I have been come proficient enough with the software to create 2 more in depth presentations that I have used to make proposals and presentations to board consultants. Online Scavenger Hunt
Rocks and Minerals - Scavenger Hunt
I chose the Scavenger Hunt assignment for this portfolio for two reasons. The first is because I believe it showcases my quick resources seeking skills as I put this task together in about 30 minutes. I also chose it because I used it with my students the day after I created it and then had success with it, learned from it and enjoyed it*. It was a good bang for my buck. Thirty minutes of my time to create and forty minutes of theirs to complete was a good ratio in my opinion and I will likely use this to introduce other science units this year. *Interesting to note that one of the links was broken when I had tested them not 24 hours before. I have kept all of the original links for the time being and will retest and edit when I use it again. WebQuestI chose my Webquest because it was again the first time I had used a program (wikispaces) and it really opened my eyes and challenged my stereotypes of WebQuests being "so Web 1.0" and really nothing but glorified Scavenger Hunts. I had an idea for a PBL experience involving integration of the Medieval Times and Pulleys and Gear units and thanks to this course I put something together that I can get started with my students when we first get back from the Christmas break.
Newsletter - Blog
I chose my Newsletter - Blog for my portfolio because I think by browsing through it and examining what I choose to post on it you gain a good understanding of my teaching philosophy and style as well as what I do in my classroom and how I use technology. I think this course helped me gain the confidence to stick with technology even when it wasn't working or I felt like I didn't have time to become and expert before putting something out there to be seen by the world. I believe that if we want our students to feel confident taking these risks we have to model that we are willing to do so too.
Rubric
I choose my rubric to be in my portfolio because it was my first fully successful Google Docs - Forms project that I came together and will be the first one that I use with my students. I have had the first student try it and the feedback was positive and I am hoping to use forms tool even more as a part of the Data Management part of math (students creating their own and collecting data from students around the world) so I again wanted to model using the technology. I am excited about creating and sharing rubrics in Google Doc - Forms as our board moves ahead with Google Apps for education and I am hoping to build a bank of rubrics that I can save online and easily edit at any point.
Presentation
I included this piece in my portfolio because I chose to go ahead and try Prezi which I had never used before this assignment. I have a fair bit of experience with PowerPoint and since part of my personal PD with this course was trying new technologies through immersion, I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and give it a go. While I feel that this presentation is a little sparse and technically flawed, I included it because as a direct result of this assignment I have been come proficient enough with the software to create 2 more in depth presentations that I have used to make proposals and presentations to board consultants.
Online Scavenger Hunt
I chose the Scavenger Hunt assignment for this portfolio for two reasons. The first is because I believe it showcases my quick resources seeking skills as I put this task together in about 30 minutes. I also chose it because I used it with my students the day after I created it and then had success with it, learned from it and enjoyed it*. It was a good bang for my buck. Thirty minutes of my time to create and forty minutes of theirs to complete was a good ratio in my opinion and I will likely use this to introduce other science units this year. *Interesting to note that one of the links was broken when I had tested them not 24 hours before. I have kept all of the original links for the time being and will retest and edit when I use it again.
WebQuestI chose my Webquest because it was again the first time I had used a program (wikispaces) and it really opened my eyes and challenged my stereotypes of WebQuests being "so Web 1.0" and really nothing but glorified Scavenger Hunts. I had an idea for a PBL experience involving integration of the Medieval Times and Pulleys and Gear units and thanks to this course I put something together that I can get started with my students when we first get back from the Christmas break.